Love Isn't Good Enough
by Broncozfan623
Summary: Love is not a weapon. Love is not a shield. Love is merely a feeling. It can't protect those you care about, especially in what the world has become. For Ellie and Riley, it's no different. (Ellie/Riley) (Under Permanent Hiatus.)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, my name is Broncozfan623.**

 **Before you read this, you need to know these things.**

 _ **1) This is an AU of Left Behind where both Ellie and Riley survive being infected(like there aren't enough of these out there). However, Riley is not immune to the infection. You will learn more as you read.**_

 _ **2) There are two main POV's for this, Ellie's and Riley's. They will both be in Third Person.**_

 _ **3) This chapter is a prologue of sorts, so everything that happens takes place before the events of this story takes place. It is pretty short, but the next ones will be longer.**_

 _ **4) This story ships Ellie/Riley. If you despise the pairing, this story is not for you and I recommend you leave.**_

 _ **5) Due to it being an AU of Left Behind, this story does contain spoilers. I advise you do not read if you have not played The Last of Us or Left Behind.**_

 _ **6) This story is rated M for Violence, Blood and Gore, and Adult Language. (You're probably going to ignore that one.)**_

 _ **7) The Narrator has no identity in this story. They are merely just an outsider.**_

 **Fair warning, this story is angst. Like, REALLY angst. You've been warned.**

 **Now that you know all this, please move forward and read.  
**

* * *

 **Love Isn't Good Enough  
** **By Broncozfan623**

* * *

 **Love**

 _noun_

1\. an intense feeling of deep affection

2\. a person or thing that one loves

 _adjective_

1\. feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone

* * *

You already know how it happened.

...

Where it happened.

...

And when it happened.

...

You all know about what happened to Ellie Williams and Riley Abel that faithful day, in the outskirts of a failing quarantine zone in the crumbling city of Boston. You know what happened beforehand as well.

...

How do I know this? That's something for you to figure out.

...

Continuing on, they reunited after over a month of being apart from one another, they explored the uncovered sections of a mall they practically called home, and slowly, reestablished their once shattered friendship.

As well as their love for one another.

They explored an abandoned Halloween store, told jokes to each other from an old pun book, took pictures in an old photo booth, played in an abandoned arcade, had a water gun fight like old times, danced to music that Riley had given to Ellie. You know what happened after.

Let me just sum it up for you very quickly though.

The kiss. The infected. The chase. The bite. The promise.

...

Right, the promise.

...

"We can be all poetic and just lose our minds together." Riley had told Ellie, just minutes after they had been infected.

...

It was then that you understood, myself included.

That was when we all understood, just how much they meant to each other.

Honestly, Ellie loved Riley more than anything in the world, and Riley was the same way.

...

That is what led to Riley's word to Ellie after they were infected. At least, that's what I think.

It was Riley's love for Ellie that provoked her statement. She thought she could keep Ellie safe because she loved her.

...

But everyone knows that that isn't good enough.

* * *

 ** _36 hours after infection_**

"Ellie, you have to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You have to."

Riley sighed, and started to stand up, only to be stopped by the pain of the infection. She slowly sat back down, Ellie grabbing her hand and rest her head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ellie," she said, "but I don't want you to have to see me turn."

"I don't care." Ellie said, "You said we would lose our minds together."

"You haven't shown a single sign since you were bitten."

It was true, a few hours after being infected, Riley had started suffering from the effects of C.B.I, while Ellie had been perfectly normal. Slowly as time passed, Ellie had no power as she sat and watched her friend's condition grow worse.

"It's for the best, Ellie." Riley said, rubbing her shoulder.

Ellie shook her head, feeling tears start to sting her eyes, "I can't, Riley. I just can't. I missed you so much for all that time, and then you finally come back, I'm just going to lose you again."

As she finished, her tears started falling and she began to cry. Riley wrapped her arms around Ellie, pulling her close to her. She continued crying, her sobs being muffled by Riley's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She said, her chin rested on top of Ellie's head.

Ellie sniffled, "For what?"

"For everything. I'm sorry for acting like a dick to you back when I left, and for leaving you alone in the first place. I'm sorry that today ended up like it did." Riley had her own tears starting to fall, "I'm sorry, Ellie. I'm so so so sorry."

Ellie looked back up at Riley and wiped her tears away. "It's not your fault, Riley."

"It is. If I had just walked you home, like you wanted-"

She couldn't finish her sentence, because Ellie had leaned forward and kissed her. She was surprised at first, but eventually settled into it. She pulled Ellie closer to her, and Ellie wrapped her arms around Riley's neck. They kissed for what felt like an eternity, tears streaming down theirs faces the entire time.

When they pulled apart, Ellie looked up at Riley once again, her arms still locked around Riley's neck, and spoke.

"None of this is your fault, Riley. You can't take all of the blame for this, and I hate seeing you do that to yourself."

"What are you saying?"

Ellie hesitated, then answered, "I love you, Riley."

Riley was taken aback by what she had said. Nobody except her parents had said those words to her, and hearing it from Ellie after so long gave her a great sense of relief.

So, she didn't even hesitate when she responded, "I love you too, Ellie. I always have."

Then, she started pushing Ellie away, "With that being said, you need to leave."

Ellie's face went straight from relief to horror, "What?"

"I'm getting worse every minute. The more we sit here and wait, the worse I'm going to get."

She pulled her Firefly pendant out, and handed to Ellie, "Go find them, they can help you."

"Then you're coming with me."

Riley shook her head, "I can't. Marlene will kill me."

"Riley, I'm not leaving-" Ellie said, frantically, tears forming in her eyes once again.

"Ellie, listen to me," she said, grabbing her face and pulling her in front of her, "You can save everyone. Do not waste that chance."

"But I can't save you."

Riley shook her head, "I'm already dead."

"Riley..."

"Ellie, please. Do this for me."

Ellie stared at Riley, taking in every detail of her face, before she eventually nodded, and began to stand up.

Riley smiled, "Thanks El."

Ellie then dipped down and kissed Riley for the last time, eventually pulling away and looking Riley in the eyes, her forehead resting against Riley's.

"I love you so much."

"I know you do, now go."

Ellie then stood up, grabbed her backpack, and began to walk out of the room. As she exited, she turned back and looked at Riley one last time, seeing Riley's handgun in her hands.

Riley noticed her staring, and smiled, "I'll see you soon."

Ellie nodded, then left.

...

Then it was Riley alone.

In the abandoned store, a gun in her hand, and a fungus spreading throughout her body.

"Well," she said, to herself, "Goodbye Ellie."

She lifted the gun to her head, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, "You were the greatest thing to ever happen to me."

...

Then she pulled the trigger.

* * *

 **Are you crying? If not, shame on you. Just kidding.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed. If you enjoyed that, which I don't know how you could, then I recommend continuing.**

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you in the next one.**

 **-Broncozfan623**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again. Welcome to the second chapter.**

 **First of all, I would like to thank everybody for the support this story got in the first few weeks. The number of views, favorites, follows, and reviews really exceeded my expectations. So thank you for all that.**

 **Now, talking about this chapter, I'm going to begin introducing my OC's for this story here. All of these OC's will be acquaintances of Riley, and their history and personalities will be explained with extreme detail throughout the story. I forgot to mention this story will be mainly from Riley's perspective, but I will definitely include parts from Ellie's POV, like Winter (Ellie travels with Joel to the Fireflies, so her story doesn't change).**

 **Oh, and to EllieWilliams, you may translate this story into French and post it on your blog, in compensation for you review ;) .**

 **Once again, thanks for the support, and please continue reading.**

* * *

 _ **40 hours after infection**_

"What do you mean she's dead?"

"Exactly what I said. She got bit and was about to turn, so she shot herself."

Marlene turned around, "And you saw all this yourself?"

Ellie shook her head, "She made me leave before she did it."

Riley's pendant sat limply in her hands, the chain slipping through her fingers and hanging downwards. It had only been a few hours since her death, and Ellie already missed her more than anything. She tried to avoid thinking about her as she was heading to the Fireflies, but thoughts of Riley would fill her mind immediately after.

Ellie's eyes started watering, "I didn't even say goodbye."

Marlene noticed Ellie's crying, and she crouched down to meet her eyes. She placed her hand firmly on Ellie's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Ellie. You shouldn't have to be going through this."

Then she stood back up, walking away from Ellie and towards the window, gazing out at the city.

"Did she tell you anything else?"

Ellie nodded, wiping her tears away, "She said I could save everyone, and that I shouldn't waste that chance."

"And she's right."

Marlene turned and looked at her, "Ellie, your condition could be the source we need to end all of this. Nobody would have to fight every single day anymore. People could be safe. _You_ could be safe. Isn't that what Riley would've wanted?"

Ellie nodded slightly.

"Right." She walked closer to her, "We need you, Ellie. Like Riley said, you can save everyone. Don't waste that chance. Okay?"

Ellie reluctantly whispered, "Okay."

"I know this day has been hard for you. You need to rest." She motioned to one of the Fireflies to her right, "Take her somewhere safe. Nobody can know about her condition. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," he said, "Come on, kid."

Ellie hesitated at first, but eventually stood up and trailed behind him.

The Firefly HQ was nothing special. People were scattered throughout the building, most of them armed, wounded, or carrying supplies. Nobody glanced in Ellie's direction once, which gave her a sense of relief. They probably had more to deal with anyway.

They eventually arrived at what was apparently where she was staying, the Firefly opened the door, motioning Ellie inside.

"We might have you move to a different room, but for now this will have to do."

Ellie walked inside, but the Firefly spoke again, "Welcome to the Fireflies."

Then the door shut, leaving Ellie in the dark room alone.

There was no furniture in the room except for a bed. Not a single window lined the walls, and there were no lights.

Ellie shook her head, tossing her backpack down and slumping down on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling, eventually pulling Riley's pendant back out.

"I miss you already." Ellie stroked the pendant lightly, more and more memories of Riley filling her mind. She felt her self starting to cry again, so she put the pendant away.

"I won't forget about you, Riley."

Then she closed her eyes, "Not now, not ever."

And not long after that, she fell asleep.

* * *

 _ **Back at the mall**_

The truck slowed to a stop, the three men inside piling out and walking away, armed with military weaponry.

"I don't get it. What is there in here that could help us?"

"Doesn't matter. We go in, grab whatever we can find, then we head back to the hospital."

"Still doesn't seem worth it."

"Cut the chatter, you two." The third one finally spoke, climbing over debris and entering the mall. The other two followed shortly after.

The one in front jumped down, noticing first the infected bodies on the ground.

"These are recent." He said, moving to asses the bodies for whatever caused their deaths. The other two walked around the area, searching for supplies or whoever had killed all of the infected.

"What the hell happened here?" One of the men said, checking around the area for any signs of life.

"Looks like somebody got here before us."

"Whoever that person was, they're armed." The third one said, standing back up and pointing at the bodies, "Keep your eyes open for anybody, these bodies got gunshot wounds."

"Come on. You don't honestly can't think whoever was here stuck around, do you?"

"Yeah, I do. Now let's go."

The other one shook his head, "You worry too much."

"Shut up. Both of you."

The two did as they were told, and the group lapsed into silence.

They continued searching the mall, scavenging whatever supplies they could find in the abandoned stores.

Eventually, they came across an old mattress shop. One of the windows had been shattered, like somebody had broken inside.

"Go check it out, could be something we need in there." One man walked inside, shining his light around the store. Nobody had a need for a bed when the outbreak started, so the place was not looted. Overall, it was almost normal.

Almost.

Then he saw something towards the back of the store, against the back wall. He moved closer, then noticing it was a person, slumped over, a gunshot wound to their head.

"Holy shit," he said in shock, "Guys, we got a person in here!"

The two other men ran inside, joining the third at the back of the room. Their faces changed to shock alongside the first man.

"It's a girl," the first one said, "Can't be any older than fifteen or sixteen."

"Who the hell did this?"

"She did," the third one said, walking up and crouching next to the girl, picking up the handgun that was next to her.

"She's got a bite on her hand," he said, assessing her body, "Probably didn't want to turn."

"Poor kid."

"Are you even sure she's dead?"

"Looks pretty fucking dead to me."

"People survive getting shot all the time. What makes her any different?"

"She would've turned anyway."

The other two's conversation made the third man curious, so he started checking for any signs of life. He listened to see if she was still breathing.

...

And to his surprise, she was.

Barely, but she was.

He looked back up in awe, "Guys. She's not dead."

The other two turned to him, "What?"

"You heard me, she's alive" she started to lift her up, "We got to get her back to the hospital ASAP."

"Whoa, hold on. You just want to bring a stranger into the hospital?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Think about it, man. All of our friends are back there. Do you really want to put them all at risk?"

"No, I don't. But we can't just leave her here."

The other one walked over, grabbing the girl's backpack and tossing it over his shoulder, "Might as well take this."

"You're okay with this?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"But-"

"Dude, I thought saving people's lives was your thing."

"It is, but-"

"Then this shouldn't be a problem. Now let's go."

The first two walked out of the store, leaving the third man inside. He stood there for a few seconds before shaking his head and joining the other two out.

* * *

 ** _Thirty minutes later_**

The truck once again slowed to a stop, this time in a parking lot of a hospital. The three men piled out again, this time grabbing the girl they found at the mall with them.

"We need to get her inside, quickly," one of them said, grabbing the girl out of the back seat. The other two ran ahead, entering the hospital.

They found another person their, and ran up to them.

"What's wrong?" The person, a woman, said to them as they ran towards her.

"We found a person at the mall. She was barely alive, got a bite on her hand and a gunshot wound to the head."

"Where is she?"

"Right here," the third one finally showed up, "It would've been nice if one of you held the door open."

"Sorry."

"Doesn't matter. She needs medical attention, and fast."

"Okay," she said, grabbing a stretcher from nearby, "I'll take her to the doctors immediately."

"Thank you," the man said, placing the girl on the stretcher.

The woman then turned around, and walked away, rolling the stretcher with the girl out in front of her.

"You sure this was worth it?"

The man shook his head, "I hope so."

* * *

 ** _Two hours later_**

They waited outside in the hallway, either leaned against the wall or in one of the benches. When one of the doctors finally walked out, all but one of them stood up.

"Well?" One of them said, "Is she alive?"

The doctor took off his glasses, "Yes, barely. You boys sure got lucky."

"Well, that's a relief."

"There was a bite on her hand, how did she not turn?"

"Well, she almost did. But, when she shot herself, the gunshot went straight through her skull and brain without causing any major damage. Instead of killing herself, she killed the infection inside of her."

"So the bullet went straight through her head?"

"Essentially, yes."

"And the bite?"

"We removed the bite. Don't worry, we didn't amputate her hand. We decided to let her sleep for some time after that."

The doctor sighed, "She sure is lucky you guys found her. If you were a minute later, she probably would've bled out."

"Yeah."

They all stood in silence then, until the third man, the one that had been against everything that had happened, stood up, "You guys got lucky." was all he said, then he walked away.

"Asshole," one of the other two said, then he turned back to the doctor, "When will she wake up?"

"Any minute now. If you want to go in there, go right ahead."

He nodded then turned around and began to walk into the room she was in.

The other one with him turned around, "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. She's going to want to know who we are when she wakes up."

"Right. I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah."

Then he walked inside the room, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

 **(Riley)**

Riley awoke slowly, her eyes being blinded by the lights above her. Her head ached, and she reached up only to feel bandages.

"What the fuck?" She said to herself.

Then she noticed a man standing across from her.

"Relax. Those drugs should be wearing off." He was probably in his mid-thirties, with blue eyes and dark brown hair. He looked like he was or had been a soldier.

"Where am I, and who the hell are you?"

"Calm down, there's no need to be hostile." He was surprisingly calm during all of this, like he had been through this before, "My name is Derek Bradshaw, and you're at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital just outside Boston."

"How the hell did you find me?"

"My men and I found you inside an abandoned mall, you had a gunshot wound to your head and an infected bite on your hand, which should be gone if I'm not mistaken."

Riley's eyes widened in shock, and she raised her left hand to see if he was lying. But sure enough, her bite was gone and replaced with stitches.

"How did you-?" She began, but she was too surprised to finish.

"Our doctors cut into your bite, disinfected it, then stitched it back up. It's a miracle you survived the gunshot, not many people survive shooting themselves in the head."

"What happened?"

Derek hesitated, "Well, apparently the bullet went straight through your head without causing any major damage to your brain or skull. Killed the infection inside you, but not you yourself."

Riley looked down at the bed sheets, trying to unravel everything he had told her in that short time.

When she shot herself, he said the bullet went straight through her head, nearly killing her. Derek's men found her in the mall, and they brought her back to this hospital.

They saved her, basically.

"Well, I guess I can't say anything else but thank you."

Derek smiled, "It was no problem. Just one question."

"What?"

"You never told me who you were. What's your name?"

Riley hesitated, but then responded, "I'm Riley."

* * *

 **Yeah, that's how Riley survived. Sounds impossible, I know. I just wanted to come up with something different then having Riley also being immune or having her hand amputated. Innovation, I would like to say.**

 **I wanted to get this chapter up sooner, but since I published a lot of crazy stuff happened. I've also been on the Black Ops III hype train for a long time, and I don't feel like getting off anytime soon.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry it's so short.**

 **Thanks again, and I'll see you next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi. Chapter 3 is here.**

 **Sorry this took so long to come out, I've been busy with school for the last two weeks(two honors classes is taking a big tole on me). Plus, I got Madden 16, so I've been playing that a ton lately(I'm getting more into Ultimate Team now).**

 **Although, I would like to thank you all for the support, except that my view counter glitched out in mid-August for both of my stories, so I had no idea if people were reading this. Despite that though, thanks for the support, if this story got any.**

 **Now about this chapter, I don't have much to say, other than I'm continuing to introduce my OC's.**

 **One more thing, I'm working on OC profiles for my profile page, but they're still a work in progress. If you want, you can check out the OC profiles for my Call of Duty/Last of Us fanfic that I have up, but the ones for this are going to take some time.**

 **Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the long awaited chapter.**

* * *

Riley had been at the hospital for three days, not being allowed to leave her bed until now. Derek had said he would show her around whenever the doctors allowed her to leave her room, and he was the first one Riley saw as she exited the room, her clothing having replaced her hospital gown and her backpack slung around her shoulders.

"Good morning," Derek said, standing up, "As promised, I'll show you around."

"Fine by me."

They then walked off.

"We've been at this place for five years now," Derek began speaking, "Took a week to get all the infected out of here and the surrounding area, and another just to get everything up and running."

"What about hunters?"

"We hardly see anyone out here, except for an occasional person or two who need help."

"I'm guessing you guys help them?"

Derek nodded, "Of course. Unlike other people, we help whoever we can. That's why we brought you here."

Riley nodded, then asked another question, "Any of you former military? or Firefly?"

Derek hesitated, then answered, "I'll get to that later, it's a little complicated."

Riley didn't say anything, just following behind them.

"But like I was saying, because of our location we don't see a lot of people out here. We were out looking for supplies when we found you."

Riley didn't say anything, her mind focused on one thing at the moment.

...

What was that she was thinking about?

Well, is it not obvious?

...

Let's just say they have red hair, green eyes, and are the only person known to mankind that's immune to C.B.I.

...

You know who it is?

Why of course you do.

...

Anyways, Ellie was the only thing that had been on Riley's mind since she woke up on the first day at the hospital. She knew she had left the mall, but what if the military got to her, or she found the Fireflies, but saw the bite on her arm and killed her?

The possibilities were nearly endless, and each one terrified Riley to no end.

Derek broke her out of her trance though, "Riley."

"Sorry. What is it?"

"I said that there are about fifty of us here. Were you even paying attention?"

Riley hesitated, "I just, have something important on my mind."

Derek thought about this, then spoke up again, "Come on. It's time I answered your question from earlier."

He walked off, and Riley followed. In no time, they reached a large room, the door being shut. Derek opened it up, and there was about twenty people in the room, sitting in chairs, some talking and the rest checking the weapons they had. It looked as if everyone was armed, which kind of freaked Riley out.

One man got up and walked towards them, addressing Derek first and then Riley.

"I'm glad you survived," he said, smiling, "My name's Tyler Rodgers, but you can call me Ty."

"Ty here is the one who found you," Derek said, "If you have anyone to thank, it should be him."

Ty laughed, "Well, I can't take all the credit."

"You will."

"Yeah, I will."

Riley laughed this time, then spoke, "Well, than thanks for finding me."

"It was nothing, kid. Besides, we did things like that all the time, even before the outbreak."

Riley raised an eyebrow at Derek, "What do you mean?"

Ty looked at him, "You haven't told her yet?"

"That's why we're here, actually. I had a feeling now was a good time to tell her."

Ty shrugged, "Whatever you say," then he turned around, "Hey! Everyone listen up. We got someone we want you to meet."

They all stopped talking and looked towards them. Derek cleared his throat, then began to speak.

"Everyone, this is Riley. Ty and I found her on our scouting run a few days ago."

"I was there too, asshole." A voice from the crowd called out.

"We know you were, Issac. But you were against bringing her here from the beginning."

"For good reasons!"

Ty shook his head, "Whatever you say," then he turned around, "Keep going Derek."

"Thank you," Derek responded, then continued, "Like I was saying, we're leaving for Jackson in three weeks, and I want Riley here to join us."

There was whispers from some people in the crowd, and Riley's eyes widened in surprise.

Riley turned towards him, "You want me to go with you? You barely even know me."

Derek looked at her, "Is there a problem?"

"No, but-" her thoughts of Ellie returned, "I never told you this, but I wasn't alone when I got bitten."

Derek looked at her in shock, "What? Where were they?"

"She left. You see, she was-" she hesitated, not sure if she should tell him. She eventually did though, speaking loud enough for all to hear, "She got bit too, but she didn't show any signs after nearly two days. I told her she needed to leave, find the Fireflies, that she could save everyone."

Riley sighed, "I appreciate everything, I really do. But I have to find her, no matter what. She thinks that I'm dead, and I can't let her mourn for me when I've been alive this whole time."

The whole room was silent, and Riley immediately felt that she made a mistake. However, Ty took a step towards her and started talking.

"Riley, with all do respect, it's too dangerous for you out there alone. I know you want to find your friend, and I'm sorry about what happened to you two, but I've lost people too."

He spread his arms out, then immediately let them fall back to his sides, "We all have. Even before the outbreak."

"What do you mean?"

Ty was about to begin, but Derek stopped him, "Let me explain." Ty complied.

Then he began, "You see, most of us here were soldiers before the outbreak started. Ty, Issac, myself, and a few others all served in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11. We we're part of an elite team called the "Iron Wolves", and we saw some of the worst fighting you could ever know."

"My best friend joined with me just after the attacks," Ty said, "We were in Iraq for three weeks when his Humvee got hit by an I.E.D." He looked down, "The things I saw then still haunt me to this day."

"What did you see?"

Ty shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it."

Riley nodded, "I understand," then she looked at Issac, "What about you?"

Issac stood up, "I lost my two brothers in the second battle in Fallujah. Damn terrorists surrounded them, killed their entire squad."

Derek started talking again, "I was the only man in my squad to come back alive from Afghanistan. Chopper was shot down in the middle of the desert. I was picked up by some farmers, and they brought me back to base alive, barely."

Derek grabbed something from his pocket, then handed it to her, "This is our team."

Riley took it, and stared down at the group of soldiers. There was at least twenty of them, most of them looking as if they were in their late twenties. Most of their faces were had large, red X's over their faces. She recognized Derek, Ty, and Issac from their faces, them being a lot younger. In the top left it said "Iron Wolves, United States Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq 2003".

Riley stared at it in awe, until Derek spoke up again, "We're sorry about your friend, Riley, but we've lost people to. You need to understand that. Besides, if I've learned anything about the Fireflies since the outbreak, they don't have the resources here to make a vaccine anyway."

"So?"

"So, we might run into them on the way to Jackson."

That got Riley's attention, and Derek smiled, "So, are you in?"

Riley thought about it for a second, then looked up, "I just need one thing."

Ty spoke this time, "What is it?"

* * *

"Remind me again why we're here." Derek said, pulling the truck to a stop. They were just outside of the school in the quarantine zone, Riley having navigated them through the city to the location.

Riley got out, "I just need to grab something. This won't take long."

"Well, make it quick. Another patrol should be here soon." Ty said, aiming his gun up and down the street.

Riley didn't respond, only heading back the way she and Ellie would always go to sneak in and out at night.

It didn't take long for her to reach her destination, and she soon stepped back into Ellie's room. Everything was still there, which meant the soldiers hadn't checked if she was there.

She found what she was looking for on the floor, facing downward.

...

What was it, you ask?

It was the photo Ellie and Riley had taken for Ellie's birthday, which felt like so long ago.

Hey, if Riley was going to find her, she needed something to remember her for. Besides, Ellie had her pendant, now Riley had the photo.

Seeing Ellie's face made Riley think about her more, and she felt tears start to sting her eyes. She shook her head though, and put the photo away. She had to get back to Derek and Ty anyway.

...

That night, Riley would lay alone, unable to sleep. She just sat there, staring up at the photo of her and Ellie, stroking it softly.

"I'll see you soon, Ellie." She said, then she laid it down to her side and went to sleep.

* * *

 **Whew, finally got this done.**

 **Just so you all know, the name Iron Wolves comes from an old Call of Duty fanfic that I cancelled over a year ago.**

 **Thanks for reading, you guys are the best. I could not ask for any better.**

 **Until next time.**

 **-Broncozfan623**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome to Chapter 4, readers.**

 **Yes, yes, I know it has been months. I have good reasons for putting this story on hiatus. I'd really like to talk about that when you finish the story, if you don't mind.**

 **So continue reading.**

* * *

 _ **3 weeks after infection**_

* * *

 **(Ellie)**

The last three weeks for Ellie had been pretty uneventful. She spent probably ninety-nine percent of her time waiting for now.

Well, waiting inside an old bakery wasn't what she had planned, but it was better than sitting in that room back at the Firefly base. Marlene had said she was going to get them help, but it had been hours since she left.

It wouldn't have surprised Ellie if she had gotten herself killed. She was the leader of the Fireflies and was high on a lot of people's kill lists.

...

But to her surprise, the door finally opened, and Marlene stumbled through, holding her side.

But she wasn't alone.

A man and a woman followed in behind her.

...

Have you ever heard the term "stranger danger"?

Well, that applied in this situation.

...

Ellie drew her switchblade, and moved towards the trio.

Her arm was risen, ready to attack.

"Get the fuck away away from her!"

Her knife was close to making contact with the man's arm, but Ellie's own was caught by the second intruder, a woman. Her grip was strong, and Ellie struggled to get free until Marlene spoke up.

The man looked towards the Firefly and spoke, "You're recruitin' kind of young, aren't you?" His voice was a deep southern accent.

Marlene was writhing in pain, and she struggled just to sit herself down. Ellie went over to her , observing the wound for herself. Whatever had happened, it was really bad.

"What happened?" Ellie asked, the concern on her face very visible. Marlene's eyes were downward, and Ellie could see the pain in her eyes.

"Don't worry, this is fixable. I got us help."

She looked up at Ellie.

"But I can't come with you."

...

The words made Ellie's heart sank.

First Riley. Now this.

Seriously, what did she do to the world to lose practically everything? What did this world have against her?

Ellie had no words for how hurt she was.

...

"Well, then I'm staying-"

"Ellie. We won't get another shot at this."

Ellie wanted to yell at her. No, _scream_ at her, for even considering this.

After she lost Riley a few weeks ago, Marlene was the only person she had left. The only person in the world that she could depend on to keep her stable, mentally and emotionally.

But now Marlene was shipping her away, with two total strangers, as if Ellie meant nothing to her.

...

Translation: Ellie was being left alone.

The one thing she did not want to be, other than dead. Then again, death would probably have more benefits in this situation.

...

The man spoke up, "Hey - We're smuggling her?"

Marlene took her eyes off of Ellie, "There's a crew of Fireflies that will meet you at the Capitol Building."

"That's not exactly close."

"You're capable. You hand her off, come back in one piece, the weapons are yours. Double what Robert sold me."

The woman took a step forward, "Speaking of which, where are they?"

"Back at our camp."

"Yeah, well we're not smuggling shit until I see them."

Marlene shook her head, sighing lightly, "You'll follow me. You can verify the weapons, I can get patched up," she motioned towards Ellie, "But she's not crossing to that part of town."

Marlene looked towards the man, "I want Joel to watch over her."

...

Ellie's beef with Marlene just grew larger.

Her and "Joel's" voices sounded at the same exact time, their tones both showing their discontent.

"Whoa whoa whoa, I don't think that's the best idea."  
"Bullshit! I'm not going with him!"

"Ellie." Was Marlene's only response.

Ellie took a step forward, "How do you know them?"

"I was close with his brother, Tommy. Said that if I was ever in a jam, I could rely on him."

Joel spoke up, "Was it before or after he left your little militia group?"

Marlene snapped back at him, "He left you too. He was a good man."

Joel shook his head.

The woman, who's name had yet to be announced, looked at Joel, "Look, just take her to the north tunnel and wait for me there."

"Jesus Christ..."

"She's just cargo, Joel."

...

Ellie glared at her, thankfully she didn't see it. She looked at Marlene one last time, hopeful that she would be able to convince her this was an awful idea.

She failed.

"No more talking. You'll be fine. Now, go with him."

...

Ellie couldn't find any words to say.

"Don't take long." Joel said to the woman before he turned towards Ellie.

His eyes were a dark shade of hazel, not dark in color, but dark in feeling. It was the feeling that made you want to look away and not look back.

"You, girl. Stay close."

He exited the bakery, Ellie slowly walking behind him. She took one last glance back at Marlene before following.

She didn't know it would be the last time she ever saw her.

* * *

 **(Riley)**

Today was the day.

Everything was prepared, everyone was ready.

Today, the first group of people begin the journey to Jackson. There were too many people at the hospital for everyone to go at once, so they had split into groups, the next one leaving about two to three weeks after the first.

Riley was apart of that first group. Her role at the hospital was the same as anybody else: gather supplies, help doctors, move equipment. Whatever they asked, she did.

The sooner they got everything ready, the sooner they would get on the road.

The sooner they could find Ellie.

Riley was nervous, nervous about what could happen, what would happen. She knew, just like everyone else, that not everyone was going to make it.

Someone was going to get infected, or murdered, or left behind. She could only hope that everyone would be okay, but that would take a miracle. Hell, probably a few dozen miracles.

She was sat down on top of a box, one hand holding her pistol, the other resting on her forehead. Everybody was outside at the moment, either getting ready to leave, or saying goodbye to any close friends. Riley didn't know any of them too well, so nobody came up to see her.

Well, except for Derek and Ty. They were apart of the first group as well, along with Issac and four others.

"You okay?" Derek said, crouching down to meet her height.

Riley didn't look up, "I'm fine. Just nervous."

"About what?"

"About everything. People are going to die on this trip, but we don't know who, or when. It freaks me out, a little."

"Well," Ty said, "You're not the only one. We know not all of us are going to make it."

"Then why take this trip, run the risk of dying on the way there? If you don't make it, what would have been the point?"

Derek sighed, "You're right. What we're doing is a huge risk, and the possibility of everybody surviving is practically zero."

He stood up, and Riley tore her gaze away from the ground up towards him.

"But this is a chance I'm willing to take, and you should to. I know that you want to find your friend, but you never know what can happen. Maybe we'll run into her on our way out west."

Riley looked back down at the ground, "You make it sound like this will be easy."

"It won't be," Ty said, "But like he said, this is a chance we have to take. Wyoming is a hell of a lot more safe than Boston."

"You guys seem to have done good so far. Why leave it all behind?"

"It's not about leaving it behind, it's about finding the best situation for us. We've done all we could to help out in this city, and now is our time to leave."

Ty walked away, and Riley looked back down at the ground.

Derek sighed, "Look, Riley. How much does this girl really mean to you?"

'Everything' is what she wanted to say. Instead, she just shook her head. Her relationship with Ellie hadn't been what she wanted to talk about with Derek and the others, so she tried to avoid it as much as possible. It worked for the most part, until now.

"Her name is Ellie." Was her response.

"Okay. How much does _Ellie_ mean to you?"

"I'd rather not say right now."

Derek took this in, then sighed, "If you don't trust me, you don't have to hide it."

"It's not that I don't trust you," She said, looking up at him, "It's just...complicated."

There was silence for a little bit, until Derek spoke, "Alright. That's fine." He stood up, "Come on, it's time."

He walked off, Riley standing up slowly before following him. Her mind continued to scroll through thoughts ranging from Ellie, to the trip, and then back to Ellie. It was a never ending cycle that she wanted to stop, but it wouldn't. These thoughts were a lot for her to handle, and it wasn't the distraction she needed right now.

She was so distracted that she almost walked right into Derek. He was standing before Ty, Issac, and the others who were leaving in the first group.

"Everything ready, Issac?" Derek started.

"Everyone's got what they need. Food to last us a few days, ammo for our guns, and spare batteries for our flashlights if needed. We're ready."

"So, we're ready to go now?"

"I guess so. The sooner we leave, the more progress we can make in one day."

Derek took this in, weighing the options he had lain down.

...

Option One: Wait and risk missing an opportunity to get out of the city before it falls apart. High risk, low reward.

Option Two: Leave now, as in _right_ now. Get out of the city as fast as they can. Low to medium risk, medium to high reward.

Option Three: There was no option three.

It was either leave or don't, and Derek was the poor soul that had been given this decision.

...

"Well, if everything and everyone is ready to go, I don't see any reason in waiting any longer."

Ty nodded, "Alright, but first," he pulled a camera out, similar to the one Riley had gotten for Ellie, so long ago.

"Right. Okay, group up. Let's get this done quick so we can head out."

...

Riley was confused. She grabbed Derek's arm, giving him a small tug, causing him to turn around.

"What are we doing?"

"Taking a group photo, before we leave. It's a tradition that we have. Come on, you're apart of this group."

He went off, but Riley was stuck where she stood. He turned around, and motioned for her again. Riley was hesitant, but she did come forward, slowly. The group was all stood together, some with their arms around each other, others, including Ty and Issac, where knelt in front of the group. Someone who was staying at the hospital was the one that would take the picture.

...

Riley smiled, about how silly all of this was. Honestly, this was tradition? It was a joke. She was thinking about how ridiculous this was that she nearly jumped back in surprise from the flash of the camera. The photo exited, and the photographer grabbed it before it fell to the ground.

The group dispersed, except for Derek and Riley. They still stood side by side. The photographer walked over towards them, and gave Derek the photo.

He smiled, and gave it to Riley.

"You hang on to it."

Riley took the photo, looking down at the faces of the people. The photographer had written "Group 1, April 2033" along the bottom line.

"Why do you all do this? Take these photos? They don't mean anything."

Derek laughed, "Coming from the girl that stares at that photo every night."

Riley looked down at the ground, heat rising up to her cheeks.

"So what?"

Derek crouched down, "Riley, the reason we take these photos is to document our journey throughout life. They represent where we've been, what we've seen, who we've met along the way. They hold memories that we want to hold on to."

He continued, "That photo you have, reminds you of Ellie. You hold onto it, and cherish it, like you would with her. We do the same with the photos we take. We cherish the memories we gain from those experiences, no matter how bad they were."

He stood up, "So you hold onto that photo. I feel like you would take better care of it than anyone else. Now let's go. We're leaving in five."

...

Riley stood motionless, her mind once again lost in thought.

So the photos, they treat them like their the last thing that they will be remembered by. Basically memories that you can hold in your hands.

She did the same thing with the photo of her and Ellie.

It was still bizarre, but she understood.

She put the photo away, and jogged off towards where Derek went.

...

Not long after, they left the hospital, heading towards safety out west.

It would take a long time, but at least one of them would get their.

Hopefully.

* * *

 **Hoped you liked that. And if you wanted to ask, yes, photography will have a big impact in this story.**

 **Now, let me explain myself for my negligence.**

 **To be completely honest, I put this story on hold so I could finish my other story, Operation: Immunity(which is a Call of Duty/Last of Us fanfic if you'd like to check it out). Trying to work on this story as well as the other was just too much, so I decided to put this on hold so I could complete the other. Now that I have, I plan on completing this story before I move on to any other projects (Operation: Immunity's sequel is on my radar.) Plus, I just felt that I didn't have this planned out well enough, so I also made some revisions to the plot so that it will be a little more understandable (All of my revisions take place later on, so nothing to worry about in the first three).**

 **Now, if this story is well received, I hope that I can turn this into something larger. Hopefully it can help revive the Ellie/Riley fandom(which is kind of dying if you ask me), as well as pave the way for more people to create their own stories like this one and others.**

 **I hope you all understand my reasons, and I can only hope you will continue to support this story as it continues.**

 **For now, I say thank you.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**

 **-Broncozfan623**


	5. Soundtrack - Cancellation

**I'm posting this because Love Isn't Good Enough has been effectively discontinued. I don't have the motivation to write about The Last of Us anymore, and I've moved on to writing exclusively about Kingdom Hearts.**

 **If you want me to bring this story back, let me know. But for now, it's over.**

 **Here's the soundtrack I created for the story. Enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Love Isn't Good Enough Official** **Soundtrack:  
** Created by: Braequan623

 _Powerless by Linkin Park_

 _My Demons (Acoustic) by Starset_

 _Ashes of Eden by Breaking Benjamin_

 _Broken by Seether feat. Amy Lee_

 _Hologram by Crown the Empire_

 _An Ocean of Its Own by From Ashes to New_

 _Don't Lose Your Heart by Dream On Dreamer_

 _Stars by Skillet_

 _Through the Valley by Shawn James_

 _My Heart I Surrender by I Prevail_

 _Last to Fall by Starset_

 _Lost and Alone (Acoustic) by From Ashes to New_

 _Left Behind by Gustavo Santaolalla_


End file.
